Report: MLS on Verge of Lockout After Impasse Over Player Association Offer

The MLSPA voted to approve a counteroffer to MLS on economic concessions for the 2020 season, but the league reportedly won't budge on its previous offer.

MLS is on the verge of a potential lockout after the league has reached an impasse while negotiating with the MLS Player Association on terms to resume play in Orlando, according to ESPN.

The players union voted Sunday to approve a counteroffer to MLS on economic concessions for the 2020 season, but the league reportedly doesn't intend to budge on its previous offer. According to ESPN's Herculez Gomez, the MLS has given players until noon Tuesday to accept their final proposal, and if they reject it, they will be locked out. 

The MLSPA released a statement saying its proposal includes salary reductions across the entire player pool, additional concessions to existing and future terms of the collective bargaining agreement and for the current CBA to be extended for one year to 2025. The CBA was verbally agreed to but not ratified before the start of the 2020 season.

"While a difficult vote in incredibly challenging times, it was taken collectively to ensure that players can return to competition as soon as they are safely able to do so," the MLSPA said in a statement.

MLS and the players union have been in negotiations for several weeks but they haven't seen eye-to-eye during the process. ESPN reports that the MLSPA offered to accept a 7.5% pay cut, while MLS's most recent offer came at an 8.75% reduction.

The two sides are also at odds over the force majeure clause that would allow either group to back out of a CBA during a catastrophic event like a pandemic. MLS proposed it should be able to cite the clause if five teams suffer an attendance drop of 25% or more from the previous year, while the MLSPA did not include that stipulation, reports ESPN.

The MLS season was suspended on March 12 due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the league recently approved voluntary small group training sessions outdoors. MLS and the players union have reportedly negotiated health and safety protocols for an upcoming summer tournament in Orlando.